


Kiss Your Smile

by lilium_elendir



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Gladnis, M/M, Summer, awkward teenagers, brotherhood era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilium_elendir/pseuds/lilium_elendir
Summary: For Gladio, summer vacation means more time at home and less time at the Citadel. Tired of Gladio moping around, Clarus suggests that he invite Ignis over for their summer BBQ.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31
Collections: Summer Memories FFXV Zine





	Kiss Your Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the FFXV Summer Memories Zine!

The sun beat down on Amicitia manor with the fury of Ifrit, chasing the residents outside and into the inground swimming pool. Not that it did much good. The water was refreshing, but lukewarm at best. Gladio splashed around with Iris, gently, as Jared and little Talcott were in the pool with them.

It was a rare weekend that the lord of the manor was home. On this occasion it was thanks to the king and the young prince being away on a fishing trip, and the Marshal as their security detail. Clarus took full advantage, shedding his council robes and sword for shorts and a gaudy Altissian shirt. Gladio had already thanked each and every Astral that he didn’t have to be seen in public with his dad today.

The King’s Shield was just firing up the grill when Gladio exited the pool, splashing Iris one last time on his way up the ladder.

“Daddy! Gladdy splashed me again!”

Clarus only chuckled, unphased by his children’s antics. Gladio ignored his sister, grabbing his book and retreating to the shade and comfort of the hammock.

“What have I told you, Iris?” Clarus turned, gesturing at his daughter with the metal spatula in his hand.

“Splash him back!” Iris cackled, doing her best to launch water at her brother. A few drops managed to reach Gladio, enough to splatter water marks on the pages of his book.

“Hey, not while I’m reading!” he shouted back, brushing the water away. He left his book on the freestanding hammock, and dragged it further back out into the grass and away from the pool. Iris stuck her tongue out at him for his efforts. Gladio made sure Clarus wasn’t watching before returning the rude gesture.

Gladio flung himself back down in the hammock and did his best to tune the chatter out. The summer was passing slowly without school to attend, and while Clarus was happy the royal family was going on more vacations, Gladio wasn’t. Without school and without Noctis, Gladio didn’t get the chance to see Ignis very much. Gladio tried to tell himself that it was just their comradery he missed, that he connected with Ignis because of their roles orbiting around Noctis. Not that that wasn’t true, but the more he missed Ignis, the more he realized it was deeper than that.

His son lost in his own thoughts, Clarus failed to get Gladio’s attention by conventional means and resorted to kicking the hammock stand. “Why don’t you invite Ignis over and get your nose out of that book for a change,” Clarus suggested. Given his daydream, Gladio held back a mouthy retort and simply ran inside to get his phone and tapped out a message.

**< Gladiolus> hey Iggy, we’re having a cookout, wanna come over?**

Gladio didn’t have to wait long before receiving a text.

**< Ignis> I would indeed. What shall I bring?**

**< Gladiolus> just yourself**

There was a pause this time, and Gladio imagined Ignis trying to decide on what to wear.

**< Gladiolus> and your swimming trunks, pool’s open**

**< Ignis> I shall see you shortly then.**

The doorbell rang precisely thirty minutes later and there stood Ignis. Armed with a polite smile and a lemon pie; Gladio didn’t stand a chance in the face of his crush. He stood there, blocking the door, a big grin on his face. Ignis adjusted his glasses, unphased by his friend’s lack of manners.

“Shall I just go around back, or do you plan on allowing me inside?”

Gladio suddenly seemed to remember himself. He scrubbed his hand along the back of his neck and flashed Ignis a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, sorry.” He propped the door open for Ignis to enter and offered to take the pie. They made it uneventfully to the kitchen.

“This smells delicious, Iggy. Does it need to go in the fridge?”

Ignis nodded, “Preferably.”

Gladio put the pie in and turned to Ignis, looking his friend over. Ignis had dressed appropriately for the occasion. Plain grey swim trunks, a t-shirt, and a pair of slip on sandals.

“Ready to swim?” Gladio asked, bare chested in his cactuar trunks.

Ignis looked down at his toes, wiggling them in his sandals. He rubbed one of his arms before peeking up at Gladio. “Would it be alright if I kept my shirt on?” An ongoing battle with acne kept Ignis from wanting to show his pockmark riddled back. Having the spots on his face and neck were bad enough.

“’Course,” Gladio smiled in response, beckoning Ignis out through the patio doors and towards the pool. Ignis was immediately grateful that his friend hadn’t questioned him and followed Gladio dutifully outside.

Under the shade of an umbrella, Jared lounged on the patio furniture with Talcott sprawled across his chest, the infant asleep despite the noise.

“Ignis! Hey, Iggy!” Iris cried from the pool, waving so hard Gladio thought she might dunk herself. Polite to a fault, Ignis smiled and waved at the young girl before heading to Clarus.

“Thank you for having me over, m’Lord Shield.”

Clarus’ cheeks puffed out in indignation and Gladio laughed, bumping Ignis’ shoulder with his fist.

“For Astrals’ sake, Ignis, please call me Clarus outside the Citadel.” Ignis looked mortified and when he glanced to Gladio for assistance, his friend only laughed harder.

“B-but, I can’t—” Ignis tried to stammer out, but Clarus interrupted him.

“You can, and you will.”

“Yes, sir. Is there anything I can assist you with?” Ignis dodged calling Clarus by his name with a substitute term of respect.

“Ignis, please, you’re here to have fun. Go push my chucklehead son in the pool or something.”

Clarus waved the boys off with his spatula, turning back to the grill to flip burgers. Ignis shot Gladio an irritated scowl, but the larger teen missed it, having turned to taunt his sister. Ignis removed his glasses, folded them neatly, and placed them on the patio table. Iris watched as Ignis approached Gladio from behind, and he held his finger to his mouth. Iris only grinned and sassed her brother harder, trying to keep Gladio’s attention.

“I can’t believe you finally convinced someone to come over, Gladdy! Pathetic!”

When Ignis tip-toed close enough, he reached out and shoved Gladio as hard as he could, catching his friend mid-sentence. “You wish you had as many friends as me you litt--!” Gladio hit the water face first, with a thunderous splash and an open mouth. He came up spluttering and half-choked. Iris laughed until her sides hurt and Ignis hid his smile behind his hand.

A critical error was made on Ignis’ part, however. He underestimated how long it would take Gladio to recover. Or rather, that Gladio wouldn’t wait to recover before seeking revenge. The powerful teen lunged out of the pool, wrapped Ignis up in his arms, and threw him towards the water. Iris squeaked and swam out of the way. But Ignis didn’t land in the pool by himself, he dragged Gladio in with him. They broke the surface in a tangle of limbs and popped up to look at each other. As if on cue, they both started to laugh, and Ignis took the liberty to splash water in Gladio’s face.

Iris beat a hasty retreat to the safety of her over-sized towel and a slice of watermelon from a platter her father had set out. Clarus let the boys horse around in the pool while the burgers and hot dogs finished cooking. Ignis and Gladio dunked and splashed each other until they were out of breath and smiling so hard their faces hurt.

They were finally made to exit the pool, Clarus proudly serving a mountain of grilled meat and skewered vegetables to his family and their guest. Gladio grinned from ear to ear as he and Ignis chatted, and at one point, without thinking, he reached over and swept a wet chunk of hair from Ignis’ forehead. Iris, who never missed anything despite only her eight years, caught the gesture and Ignis’ subsequent blush. But Clarus was even sharper, and when her mouth opened wide to tease her brother and his friend, Clarus clapped his hand over it.

A stern ‘Iris’ was all it took for her to close her mouth tight, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. Gladio was having such a good time that he missed the exchange between his sister and father, laughing at something funny Ignis must have said. Jared quietly observed them all, feeding himself and his grandson, Talcott perched on his knee.

When everyone seemed to have their fill, Gladio announced that Ignis had brought dessert, and jumped up to get it.

“Ooh, Iggy, you cook a lot of sweets for the prince, don’t you?” Iris asked, chin in her hands as she waited.

Ignis smiled and nodded, “I do. Noctis has quite the sweet tooth.” He was about to speak more when Gladio boomed from behind him, pie in his hands.

“Look what Iggy brought!”

“That looks delicious, Master Ignis,” Jared complimented, and Ignis started to blush again. He pushed his glasses up his nose to do something with his hands as Gladio set the lemon pie on the table and started serving everyone.

“Thank you, Ignis. Next time feel free to visit without bringing food, though we’ll never turn something so good down,” Clarus said around a mouthful of pie. Gladio sat beside Ignis, serving himself last, and took a great bite. He made a sound that turned the tips of Ignis’ ears red.

“Iggy, this is amazing.” A quiet ‘thank you’ was all he got in response, and so Gladio leaned in close, grinning, and bumped against Ignis’ side.

“Yeah, Iggy, it’s amazing,” Iris mimicked her brother, batting her eyelashes as she poked fun at Gladio, Clarus unable to stop her this time. Gladio shot her a glare across the table, but Iris resorted to making a kissy face. Ignis kept his eyes on his fork and Clarus intervened before things could get out of hand.

“Iris, help me bring the leftovers in the kitchen, then it’s time to get washed up.”

“But Daddy—”

“Now.”

“Yes, sir.” Iris knew that tone, and it brooked no argument. “G’night, Iggy. Thanks for the pie.”

Ignis was about to offer his assistance when he felt a warm hand rest on top of his thigh beneath the table, sufficiently quieting him. The others cleared the table and retreated inside, but not before Clarus winked at his son.

Gladio withdrew his hand, not wanting to be too bold. “Hey, Ig… wanna go lie on the hammock and watch the sunset?”

“I…” Ignis was going to turn Gladio down, insisting it was time for him to return home, but the hopeful, puppy-dog look on Gladio’s face made it hard for him to refuse. “For a bit,” he offered with a small smile.

“Alright, c’mon!” Gladio’s enthusiasm was contagious, and when he snatched up Ignis’ hand to lead the way, the other boy didn’t protest. There was a warmth in Ignis’ chest he couldn’t deny, and his fingers seemed to fit perfectly in Gladio’s palm.

Gladio held the hammock steady while Ignis climbed up and then he eased onto it as well, stretching out beside his friend.

“This is a lovely spot,” Ignis said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peace of the backyard as the sun sank and twilight approached.

“I read out here a lot. Well, if I can get Iris to leave me alone for five minutes.”

Ignis chuckled. “She enjoys spending time with you.”

Gladio let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I know. And I like having her around. But…”

“But what?” Ignis shifted to look over at Gladio, the other teen had crossed his arms beneath his head, a far-off expression in his warm amber eyes. He stared up at the sky, the shimmer of the wall was a sheen of distortion between them and the stars beyond, like looking through water.

“Sometimes I dream about getting out of here. Hitting the open road, seeing the rest of the world. Camping outside the wall. No barriers between me and the sun or the moon. What about you, Iggy? Ever think about life outside of Insomnia?” When Gladio turned his head to look at Ignis, he was met with the same look of wonder he felt inside.

“I would like to see Tenebrae someday. I’ve seen pictures in the book Noctis and Lady Lunafreya correspond in. Fenestala Manor and the floating islands surrounding it… it’s really quite beautiful.” The green of Ignis’ eyes was difficult to see in the fading light, but the shining excitement was still clear. As was the quiet awe in his voice.

“Hey, maybe we can go on a road trip together someday. We can camp along the way, till we get to the boat or train that goes to Tenebrae.”

The soft smile that graced Ignis’ lips made Gladio’s heart stutter in his chest. “What an adventure that would be.” An evening breeze blew under and over the hammock causing Ignis, still damp from the pool, to shiver.

In a split second Gladio decided to take a chance, scooting over to slide his arm under Ignis’ shoulders and draw him close. “Here, let me keep you warm.” Ignis gasped in surprise and grew still. Not knowing what to do with his arms, Ignis curled them up against his own chest and tucked his head against Gladio’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

An awkward silence ensued, and Gladio cursed himself for it. Just when he couldn’t take it any longer, Ignis spoke up.

“Gladio?”

“Yeah?”

“I think it’s time for me to go home.”

Ignis’ words pierced Gladio’s heart, and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep the disappointment from his voice.

“Course.” Gladio was about to get up when he was stopped by Ignis’ hand on his chest. He looked down at Ignis, studying his friend’s face in the last vestiges of the sun’s light. He wasn’t sure why, but Gladio started to smile. Maybe it was the magic of the moment, or the cool fingertips against the warmth of his chest. It was like he knew what Ignis was going to do before it happened.

So, when Ignis pushed against his chest to lift himself up and close the distance between them, to press their lips together in a kiss, Gladio was already resting his hand on Ignis’ back. Unfortunately, it did nothing to save them; the shift in weight flipped them out of the hammock and onto the grass below before their lips ever touched.

Ignis was the first to titter, followed by Gladio’s giggle. Once they started, it was hard to stop, laughing until they were breathless. Once they recovered, it seemed only natural to lean into each other and finish what they started. Ignis and Gladio smiled at each other, ending the night with a sweet kiss under a sea of stars.


End file.
